PF/C Kosta Koufos (CSKA Moscow)

[3074326]

I think they're talking age. Could be wrong.

 

[BengalsAndBucks]

From reading the full post that the quote came from, I didn't come to that conclusion.

 

[3074326]

Well, I think DaytonBuck was talking age. "They're" was a poor word choice. :tongue2:

Unless DaytonBuck thinks they're going at 19. Which is possible, he likes Pete Wentz after all.

 

[Steve19]

You don't necessarily know they are a "one and done" player when you recruit them. Besides, you saw how a college basketball program can deteriorate under O'Brien when you only get players that you are pretty sure "will stay around 4 years". I read his book and he specifically claims to have gone after those type of players, etc. The truth is he couldn't attract the "5 star" players to Ohio State. You want to the recruit the BEST players available. If another Oden, Connely, and Cook class comes along, I say "go for it". The season before last was a "great ride" to the NCAA finals.

Yes, and good luck Kosta.

What I said was, I hope this is the last one we recruit. I am not sorry that we brought in Oden, Connelly, and Cook last year. Right now, though, we need some stability on this team.

I agree with ScriptOhio that coaches don't "know" which players are going and with others here saying that the coaches have a pretty good idea. Clearly, it's a no-brainer that if a 5-star comes along, you go after him.

Along with that comes some serious thinking about team dynamics and how quickly you can get guys to play together as a team.

The rumored interpersonal issues that plagued the team this year, and Matta's comments that the players "didn't get it", suggest how hard it is to get buy-in to a team and personal development plans, when players are thinking more about their future pro career than the Ohio State career in which they are involved.

So, my comment wasn't to turn great players away, it was a hope that what we have coming in next year isn't going to be more one and done players because right now this team really needs some stability going into next year.

 

[LitlBuck]

For those of you who are hoping that Kostas will be Ohio State's last one and done recruit, I do not know how to tell you this but Mullens will be a one and done next year unless he loves Ohio State so much that he passes up all the money that the NBA is going to throw at him and stays for another year. I won't mention Buford who is another possible one and done player.

Those of you who have mentioned that Kostas leaving will not hurt our APR you must remember that we submitted our academic report for the basketball team and how we are going to improve it before Kostas decision. He was not included when the NCAA filed their report. I will be very surprised if we do not lose a scholarship for the 2009 and possibly 2010 recruiting years.

Winning is great but sometimes you have to pay the price and if the NCAA does not give schools a break because they are on the quarters system we will lose scholarships.

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

He's definitely going pro
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Koufos picks an agent; next choice is NBA or Greece[/FONT]
Friday, May 9, 2008
BY Todd Porter
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

PLAIN TWP. When Kosta Koufos is picked in the upcoming NBA Draft, he very well could become a rare internationally marketed player. Koufos, whose mother is a native of Greece, could play on the Greece national team in the Olympics. He already is well known and adored there.

But Koufos didn't have to look far to find an agent to represent him here and abroad. Mark Termini, one of the NBA's most respected agents, was just up the highway.

Kathy Koufos confirmed Thursday that Termini has been hired to represent her son, an athletic 7-footer who is an intriguing 19-year-old draft prospect. Kosta Koufos was unavailable for comment. Termini's agency is based in Brecksville.

"We are very pleased with the relationship we're developing with Mark," Kathy Koufos said. "He's very professional and very down to earth. He's very ethical.

"He has a good international client base, and he has smaller numbers here. We like the fact that he's based in Ohio. We are Ohio people. We like having access to him. We interviewed a number of agents who are excellent in their field and have excellent reputations for their clients."
Cont...

 

[Buckskin86]

Sunday special: Koufos is making the grade
His GPA is dean's list quality, as is his talent
Sunday, May 11, 2008
BY Todd Porter

Did GlenOak High School graduate Kosta Koufos do anything wrong when he chose to leave Ohio State last month for the NBA draft? Koufos withdrew from OSU in the middle of spring quarter, something men's basketball Head Coach Thad Matta told reporters he hoped wouldn't happen.

Koufos' departure prompted Ohio State athletics faculty representative John Bruno to tell reporters he wished Koufos would have taken care of responsibilities in the classroom. That comment can be a bit misleading, and it rubbed Kathy Koufos, Kosta's mother, the wrong way.

When Koufos left Ohio State to focus on predraft workouts and camps, he left the university with an accumulative grade-point average above 3.3.

"He was on the dean's list," Kathy Koufos said. "I'm not sure what the implication is if he was not academically successful in the classroom or what. That is not the case at all. ... He was not leaving academically ineligible."

Matta told reporters last week he asked his players to withdraw before spring quarter ? if they were leaving. Kathy Koufos said that was a conversation Kosta never had or doesn't recall having with Matta.

"If he had known it would have helped the university to not sign up for courses in the spring, that's something we would have addressed," Kathy Koufos said. "We're Ohio State fans and sensitive to the fact we don't want to do anything hurtful to the university. But I support my son, and I want to state for the record he was academically eligible and was on the dean's list."

The Koufoses struggled most with how the departure for the NBA would impact OSU's APR standing with the NCAA. They estimated, at most, Ohio State's basketball program will take a two-point hit because of Koufos' departure.

Kathy Koufos is a guidance counselor at GlenOak High School. The decision to leave college early was not easy.

"We had a lot of angst about this because education is very important to Kosta and to myself," Kathy said. "However, this was the direction he was heading and has been heading for. Last year, he chose to honor his commitment to Ohio State and gave up a great financial opportunity because he wanted to go to school and be a part of the program. When that opportunity keeps coming up, you can't keep giving it up.

"He will complete his education eventually."

Koufos has hired Cleveland-based agent Mark Termini. Based on the interest that has been expressed in Koufos, playing professionally in Greece is looking like an option that is becoming more remote. Koufos measures in his socks a shade over 7-foot.

If he performs well in camps and in the NBA, don't be surprised to see endorsement deals in the offering from Greece, where he is popular

CantonRep.com | The Canton Repository | Canton, Stark County & Northeast Ohio News, Community Events & Classifieds

 

[LitlBuck]

Matta told reporters last week he asked his players to withdraw before spring quarter ? if they were leaving. Kathy Koufos said that was a conversation Kosta never had or doesn't recall having with Matta.

Somebody is not telling the truth here and it would be interesting to know who it would be. I have to believe that Kosta knew that if he left during the Spring quarter after the University's official withdrawal date that he would be leaving school ineligible. Maybe the conversation did not take place but Kosta had to know the rules. The conversation between him and Matta really didn't need to take place. KK knew the ramifications if he left school without completing his coursework.

 

[LitlBuck]

Draft
Projected at #21 if he decides to play in the NBA.

 

[Jake]

I hear comparisons with Dirk Nowitzki but I think KK has to get a lot tougher to warrant them. He's tall, and he can shoot from outside - the comparisons stop there, for now. He wasn't the most physical 7-footer in college, and the NBA is another level, entirely.

 

[gracelhink]

Matta told reporters last week he asked his players to withdraw before spring quarter ? if they were leaving. Kathy Koufos said that was a conversation Kosta never had or doesn't recall having with Matta.

Somebody is not telling the truth here and it would be interesting to know who it would be. I have to believe that Kosta knew that if he left during the Spring quarter after the University's official withdrawal date that he would be leaving school ineligible. Maybe the conversation did not take place but Kosta had to know the rules. The conversation between him and Matta really didn't need to take place. KK knew the ramifications if he left school without completing his coursework.

Kathy is a professional educator and pretty genuine lady. Her comments were not intended to call TM a liar, and it would be wrong for us to interpret "someone is not telling the truth" as the only conclusion.

 

[BayBuck]

Somebody is not telling the truth here and it would be interesting to know who it would be. I have to believe that Kosta knew that if he left during the Spring quarter after the University's official withdrawal date that he would be leaving school ineligible. Maybe the conversation did not take place but Kosta had to know the rules. The conversation between him and Matta really didn't need to take place. KK knew the ramifications if he left school without completing his coursework.

At a coaches' function last week, Matta and Groce emphasized that they have been drilling this into players' heads ever since it became clear they would be losing 3 freshmen last season. Conley and Cook both enrolled only part-time last spring, which minimized the APR effect, but Koufos went ahead and enrolled full-time then dropped his courses (and of course, W's don't affect that 3.3 GPA) knowing full well the effect it would have on the team.

I also got the impression they are getting pretty tired of having certain mothers being so overly involved with their potential-professional college-student sons.

 

[LitlBuck]

Kathy is a professional educator and pretty genuine lady. Her comments were not intended to call TM a liar, and it would be wrong for us to interpret "someone is not telling the truth" as the only conclusion.

I know her professional background but she is still a mother. I did not say she was a "liar" perhaps she just has a bad memory or maybe the conversation never did take place. I wasn't there so I don't know but her son knew when he was doing to the basketball program by leaving early and that's a fact!

 

[exhawg]

I know he's a couple years away from being a force in the NBA, but I would still take him at 22 if he's there for the Cavs. He'll never be a basher inside, but he will probably develop a good post game to go with his above average shooting. He could be like Z with a few extra feet of range. It would be cool to get another Ohio guy or two on the Cavs roster.

 

[MaxBuck]

I hear comparisons with Dirk Nowitzki but I think KK has to get a lot tougher to warrant them. He's tall, and he can shoot from outside - the comparisons stop there, for now. He wasn't the most physical 7-footer in college, and the NBA is another level, entirely.

Tyson Chandler seems more apt to me.